The present invention relates to fishing lures, and in particular, fishing lures which sink. Most particularly, the present invention relates to weighted fishing lures which have a predatory fish attracting motion when pulled through the water and orient themselves in a particular manner when allowed to sink.
Fishing with natural live bait, such as minnows, has been practiced since ancient times. The effectiveness of a minnow on a hook in attracting and hooking predatory game fish, even in the presence of schools of wild minnows, is presumably due to the appearance of vulnerability associated with the bait minnow. That is, to the predatory fish, the bait minnow appears as a food source requiring relatively lower energy output than a healthy wild minnow. In modern times, fishermen have increasingly turned to artificial lures since artificial lures are more convenient than natural live bait and avoid the potential for disease transmission into the fish population. A challenge to the fishing lure industry has been to mirror and/or exceed the effectiveness of natural live bait such as minnows.
Fishing lures which are weighted so as to cause them to sink through the water are well known. Three examples of representative sinking lures are as follows: First, a jig-type lure, which in its most basic form consists of a lead weight molded onto the shank of a hook adjacent the eye of the hook. Jig-type lures often are characterized by a tendency to drop though water in an orientation such that the lead weight portion of the lure leads the lure downward. Second, a metal spoon-type lure which typically consists of a single piece of metal sheet stamped into a bowl shape and having a treble hook at one edge and an eyelet at an opposite edge. Spoon-type lures often include a slight asymmetric characteristic in the stamping which results in a helical motion when pulled through water. Third, a full-bodied lure having an overall density such that it sinks through the water. Some well known full-bodied sinking lures simulate the shape of a minnow and may also wiggle slightly when pulled through the water if a forward mounted blade surface is present.
Although such prior art sinking lures have been effectively used to catch fish, there remains an as yet unsatisfied need within the fishing sport to provide sinking lures which are characterized by motions which simulate a particularly vulnerable bait fish and, at the same time, retain much of the appearance of a bait fish. If certain key motions can be exaggerated, then the lure will be even more effective than natural live bait in attracting and hooking predatory game fish. Artificial fishing lures selectively exaggerating the most effective game fish attracting motions of a vulnerable minnow are believed to be unavailable until the development of the present invention.